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Breed guide · Cats
She looks furious even when she's purring. I weigh her dinner to the gram.
Last updated 14 October 2026
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What they brought with them.
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At home
Tears down the side of the nose, and a brown stain in the fold under the eyes.
What's going onA short coat does not change the face. Their tear ducts were squeezed flat, so tears spill down the nose. Wipe them daily, and treat a squint or a cloudy eye as a same-day visit.
At home
Flat out on the cool tiles, or refusing to leave the coldest room in the flat.
What's going onA flat face makes cooling down hard work, whatever the coat. The cold floor is how they cope. Keep the air conditioning on while they are home alone.
At home
A face that looks cross, even in the middle of a purr.
What's going onThat expression is the shape of their face. Their mood is in their tail, their ears and whether they come to find you.
At home
Asleep most of the day, a minute of play, then back to the cushion.
What's going onWeight gain is on their health record in their junior and prime adult years, and the dense coat hides it. Run your hands over their ribs each week, and weigh them monthly.
At home
Kibble dropped on the floor, food eaten from the edge, the wet finished and the hard left.
What's going onA short face makes kibble hard to pick up. A wide, flat dish helps. Dropping food or chewing on one side can mean a sore mouth.
At home
The water bowl emptying faster, or bigger clumps in the tray.
What's going onPolycystic Kidney Disease (PKD, cysts in the kidneys) came with the Persian side, and stays quiet for years. Drinking more, or bigger clumps in the tray, is worth telling your vet.
The bit nobody tells you.
Their face
Built for: The Persian's flat face, bred for the show bench.
In Dubai: Eyes that still do not drain, every day of the year.
Their coat
Built for: Sold as the easy Persian, and the coat really is easier.
In Dubai: A Dubai summer, as hard on them as on any flat-faced cat.
Their weight
Built for: Calm, low-energy and plush.
In Dubai: Weight that goes on quietly, under a coat that hides it.
The tear stains, the afternoons on the tiles and the slowly thickening waist mostly come from that gap.
The coat is the only part of them that got easier. The ten things below are how you look after the rest.
Your plan is built around what an Exotic Shorthair is prone to at every age, and the care that goes with each one.
Join the founding families. AED 1,999 of essential care for AED 199.
Ten things that make their life better.
Their tear ducts drain badly, whatever the coat, so tears sit on the skin and stain it.
Every age, start as a kitten
Why
Their tear ducts drain badly, whatever the coat, so tears sit on the skin and stain it.
What to do
Once a day, with a soft cotton pad dampened in cool boiled water, wipe from the inner corner of each eye down along the nose, a fresh pad for each eye. Dry the fold under the eyes, and look as you go: both eyes open the same amount, clear and bright. Ocular (eye) and tear-duct care is part of your plan in their junior and prime adult years.
Their eyes sit further forward, and an injury to the surface can get worse fast.
Every age, most of all kittens and juniors
Why
Their eyes sit further forward, and an injury to the surface can get worse fast.
What to do
If they squint, keep one eye shut, paw at their face, or you see a cloudy or blue patch on the eye, contact your vet the same day. Do not wait to see if it clears. Kittens scratch each other in play, so keep an eye on rough games.
A short coat does not fix a flat face. Cooling down is still hard work for them.
Every age, most of all kittens and from 11 years
Why
A short coat does not fix a flat face. Cooling down is still hard work for them.
What to do
Keep the air conditioning on all summer while they are home alone. Never leave them on a balcony or in a parked car, and plan vet visits for the cooler part of the day. If they breathe with their mouth open, cool them with a damp towel and contact your vet now.
Their airway is narrower than most cats', and their heart is on their record from their prime adult years.
Every age, most of all from 7 years
Why
Their airway is narrower than most cats', and their heart is on their record from their prime adult years.
What to do
Listen to them when they are fast asleep and cool, so you know their normal. A snore that gets louder, breathing that looks like effort, or breathing with their mouth open is worth a call to your vet. A brachycephalic airway and tear-duct evaluation (a breathing and tear-duct exam, given their flat face) is in your plan as a kitten.
They will not ask to play, and a calm cat who never moves gains weight.
Every age, most of all 7 months to 6 years
Why
They will not ask to play, and a calm cat who never moves gains weight.
What to do
Move a wand toy slowly along the floor, away from them and behind furniture, for two or three minutes, twice a day, in the coolest room. Let them catch it, then feed them. Stop if their breathing gets louder.
Weight gain is on their health record in their junior and prime adult years, and the coat hides it.
Every age, most of all 7 months to 6 years
Why
Weight gain is on their health record in their junior and prime adult years, and the coat hides it.
What to do
Feed from a wide, shallow dish. Weigh their daily food, treats included, and split it into small meals. Once a month, stand on the scales holding them, then without them, and write down the difference. Weight-management counselling is in your plan in their junior years, and body condition scoring (a check on whether they are the right weight) after that.
Polycystic Kidney Disease (PKD, cysts in the kidneys) is the first risk on their health record, and it is silent for years.
Every age
Why
Polycystic Kidney Disease (PKD, cysts in the kidneys) is the first risk on their health record, and it is silent for years.
What to do
Feed some wet food every day, and start while they are a kitten and will eat anything. Put two or three wide water bowls around the flat, away from their food and tray, and wash them daily. Notice if they start drinking more. A PKD renal ultrasound (a scan of the kidneys) is in your plan as a kitten, a junior and a prime adult.
Bladder trouble shows in the tray first, and is often mistaken for bad behaviour.
Every age, most of all 7 months to 6 years
Why
Bladder trouble shows in the tray first, and is often mistaken for bad behaviour.
What to do
Scoop daily in a low-sided tray with unscented litter, kept in one quiet place. Notice the number and size of the clumps. A male cat straining, crying or going in and out of the tray with little or nothing coming out may have a blocked bladder. That is an emergency: contact your vet now. If a female cat is straining, contact your vet the same day.
Their teeth are crowded into a short jaw, and trapped food leads to gum disease.
Every age, start as a kitten
Why
Their teeth are crowded into a short jaw, and trapped food leads to gum disease.
What to do
Lift their lip gently and look at the teeth and gums. Brush a few seconds at a time with cat toothpaste, starting as a kitten. Notice if they drop food, chew on one side or go off hard food, and tell your vet. From their junior years, your vet does an annual dental evaluation (teeth and gum check) as part of your plan.
Their coat is dense, and a cat who is used to hands is easier to check.
Every age, start as a kitten
Why
Their coat is dense, and a cat who is used to hands is easier to check.
What to do
A metal comb through the coat once a week, more when they shed. If they have a long coat, comb them every day. Every day, touch their face, paws and belly for a few seconds, then give a treat. Leave the carrier out with a blanket inside, so it is somewhere they sleep.
Five of these are in your plan. The rest you can do at home.
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Their health, at every age.
How old are they?
Their age
the first six months
What to watch for
The care that goes with it
Their age
7 months to 2 years
What to watch for
The care that goes with it
Their age
2 to 6 years
What to watch for
The care that goes with it
Their age
7 to 10 years
What to watch for
The care that goes with it
Their age
11 to 14 years
What to watch for
The care that goes with it
Their age
15 years and over
What to watch for
The care that goes with it
Breed predispositions indicate an increased risk rather than certainty of disease. What is right for them always comes from their own history and an evaluation.
Before they come home.
Short coat or long coat
An Exotic Shorthair has the Persian's face, body and calm, in a coat you can comb in minutes. The Persian's long-coat gene still runs in the breed, so now and then a kitten is born long-haired, and that kitten needs a Persian's daily comb rather than a weekly one. Ask the breeder which coat yours will have.
Colours
From solid black, blue or cream to tabby, tortie, silver and smoke. Whatever the colour, the same dense, soft plush is underneath.
The first six months
Vaccinations, a microchip and Dubai Municipality registration come first, with a kidney scan and a breathing and tear-duct evaluation on their record as a kitten. Start the daily face wipe now, a few seconds at a time, so it becomes part of the day.
Kitten health, 0 to 6 months
Getting the home ready
Plan for the air conditioning to stay on while they are home alone. Set out a wide, shallow food dish, two or three wide water bowls away from the food, and a low-sided tray in a quiet corner.
Ten things that make their life better
Before you commit
Polycystic Kidney Disease (PKD, cysts in the kidneys) came with the Persian side, and it stays quiet for years. Ask the breeder whether both parents were DNA tested for PKD.
Before the clinics open
AED 1,999 of essential care for AED 199. No payment now.
If it's a kitten: First 30 days with a new kitten · Kitten vaccinations in the UAE
When it is not behaviour.
She'll still look furious. If the tears change, or the purr turns into a wheeze, call your vet.
Before they were yours.
1871 onwards
The Exotic's face and body are the Persian's, shaped on European and American show benches from the first cat show, at Crystal Palace in London in 1871.
What they still carryThe Persian's build and calm.
The 1950s
Some American Shorthair breeders mated their cats with Persians for a rounder body. The kittens had the Persian's shape in a short, plush coat, and American Shorthair breeders did not want them in their breed.
What they still carryA Persian shape in a short coat.
1966 to 1967
The Cat Fanciers' Association gave the crosses a class of their own in 1966, and recognised the Exotic Shorthair in 1967. One early name put forward was the Sterling.
What they still carryTheir name, and a place at the show.
Since 1967
Breeders kept crossing back to Persians, so the face flattened as the Persian's did, and now and then a kitten is still born long-haired.
What they still carryThe Persian's tear ducts, airway, teeth and kidneys.
Today
A common pedigree in the UAE, kept indoors in air conditioning.
What they still carryA flat face in a hot city: easier to groom than a Persian, and just as sensitive to heat.
The ones you type at midnight.
If the Exotic Shorthair suits you, so might these.
PersianThe same kind of cat: the same flat face and calm nature, in a long coat that needs a comb every day
HimalayanThe same kind of cat: the same calm nature, in a long colourpoint coat with blue eyes that needs combing every day
ChartreuxThe same quiet, undemanding temperament, in a sturdy blue cat with a normal nose that copes a little better with heat
RagamuffinA similar calm indoor life and a weekly brush, in a bigger semi-longhaired cat with a normal face
